Surety 1182343 211803934 2008-05-12T04:41:39Z 210.23.130.14 {{worldview}} A '''surety''' is a person who agrees to be responsible for the [[debt]] or obligation of another. Additionally, the situation in which a surety is most typically required is when the ability of the primary obligor or ''[[:wikt:principal|principal]]'' to perform its obligations under a [[contract]] is in question, or when there is some public or private interest which requires protection from the consequences of the principal's default or delinquency. In most [[common law]] jurisdictions, a contract of suretyship is subject to the [[statute of frauds]] (or its equivalent local laws) and is only enforceable if recorded in writing and signed by the surety and the principal. If the surety is required to pay or perform due to the principal's failure to do so, the law will usually give the surety a right of [[subrogation]], allowing the surety to "step into the shoes of" the principal and use his contractual rights to recover the cost of making payment or performing on the principal's behalf, even in the absence of an express agreement to that effect between the surety and the principal. The act of becoming a surety is also called a '''guarantee'''. Traditionally a guarantee was distinguished from a surety in that the surety's liability was joint and primary with the principal, whereas the guaranty's liability was ancillary and derivative, but many jurisdictions have abolished this distinction. In the United States, under Article 3 of the [[Uniform Commercial Code]], a person who signs a [[negotiable instrument]] as a surety is termed an ''accommodation party''; such a party may be able to assert defenses to the enforcement of an instrument not available to the maker of the instrument. ==See also== *[[Aval]] *[[Co-signing]] *[[Indemnity]] *[[Surety bond]] *[[Surety (Canadian criminal law)]] [[Category:Sureties]] [[de:Bürgschaft]] [[sv:garant]] [[tr:Kefalet]] ==External links== *[http://www.surety.org The Surety & Fidelity Association of America] - An association with databases for surety bond forms and risk analysis. *[http://www.suretybondexperts.com Surety Bond Articles] - From general to specific surety bond information. *[http://www.nasbp.org The National Association of Surety Bond Producers] - NASBP is the association of and resource for surety bond producers.